The line and its trains were leased to SEPTA in 1968[6] after it assumed operation of the city transit systems from the former Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC).

[7] Broad Street Line subway cars bear both the SEPTA logo and the seal of the City of Philadelphia to reflect the split ownership-operation arrangement.

Service on the northern half of the Broad Street Line, between City Hall and Olney Avenue, opened on September 1, 1928.

Service to a new park-and-ride station built next to the Fern Rock shops began in 1956, and the line was extended further south to Pattison Avenue in 1973 to serve the recently completed Sports Complex.

From Lombard-South station south to Snyder, the tunnel was constructed differently – only the eastern half of the line was built.

Seldom used for passenger service in recent years, these tracks are most often used to store rolling stock and work trains.

From April 2020, trains bypassed the Logan, Wyoming, Susquehanna–Dauphin, Fairmount, Spring Garden, Chinatown, Lombard–South, and Tasker–Morris stations.

Additionally, SEPTA stated they would pilot neighborhood maps in stations and prioritize the deployment of real-time information signage and on mobile apps.

The city government's archives contain a survey report, prepared in 1948, discussing a need for an extension of the Broad Street line from Erie Avenue to the vicinity of Pennypack Circle (see Roosevelt Boulevard).

[15] In 1964, the city proposed a nine-mile (14 km), $94 million extension of the Broad Street line along Roosevelt Blvd.

Development was limited to the building of one subway station by Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1967, at its complex on Roosevelt Boulevard at Adams Avenue, at the cost of $1 million, in anticipation of future service.

[16] Ultimately the Northeast Expressway was never built, due to lack of funds, and the subway extension remained a paper concept.

On September 10, 1999, SEPTA filed a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Northeast Extension with the EPA.

[17] In December 2001, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission supported extending the Broad Street Line along Roosevelt Blvd.

Currently, the Broad Street Line terminates southbound at NRG station at Pattison Avenue and three major stadiums.

The JG Brill Company also built and delivered 26 deluxe art-deco streamlined subway cars to the Delaware River Joint Commission in early 1936 for use on its Bridge Line from 8th and Market into Camden, NJ via the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

The line itself ran 24 hours a day until it was eliminated in 1991; it was reinstated on June 20, 2014, for Friday and Saturday overnights only on a trial basis.

At its southern terminus at 8th and Market streets, passengers may transfer to the Market–Frankford Line and the PATCO Speedline.

The spur operates Mondays through Saturdays from 6 am to 9 pm, running two-car trains (though platforms can fit five cars).

[34] The Ridge Spur was closed from February 1981 to September 6, 1983, during construction of the Center City Commuter Connection.

The 2014 closure of the Gallery Mall, adjacent to 8th and Market station, caused ridership on the spur to drop by 25%.